Traction wheel



1,441,303. L. E. SLAUSON.

TRAcloN WHEL.

FILED IUNE i2, 1919.

Jan. 9,1923.

reien Louis 7E. sri-meen; ornocir'rsnirirngrrgnrnos,essienon'ro eninirtN-Gai Coivrreni-r; orkanen ISLAND; ILLINois.

` j 'rnacrion WHEEL( ./.pplicationv` iied June 12,.

Rock island, in the county of Rock islanda and State` of illinois, have invented certain neivf and useful improvement-sin Traction Wheels, of Which the following` is a" specification. ,Y

The object of thisinventionbroadly islto convert 'an ordinary smooth riin Wheel into a traction ivheell hy the application thereon iny a. novel manner of ar plurality of tract-ion shoes so constructed andro mounted onfthe rini of the Wheel that as the wheel -revolves they 'ill automatically adjust themselves in hrope'l position for forward or reverse travel to lay-a smooth: and practically unbroken track over `Which-.the rinioffthe Wheel tra-v- 'els smoothly and evenly andvvithout slippage. Y

More particularly the invention' has v'for its objects to provide a traction shoe of simple form and ysubsta'ntial construction which can he produced lonV costas a one-pececast ingand easily applied to the rim of a tractor or other similar Wheel; to inount the shoes in a novelv manner on the ,vlieel riinso that notwithstanding they arie'. independently niov- :ihie relatively to the rim and to each other theyy will always he presented flativise to the ground surface in regular spaced position to forin a vtrack upon which the riin travels smoothly and evenly;` to provide parts of` novel Vforni on the rim for engaging the shoe to insure proper positioning'- of the shoes and which will also operate to free the shoe fro'in any clods which may adherev togthe shoe in traveling' over Asoft ground; t0 provide the shoe With`crosshars of novel construction spaced apart to engage the ground surface and which will enter and leave soft `around Without materially injuring they surface and Without causiu any lateralshifting the earth between the cross-har niarks i therein; and tol 'construct the shoe so that the Wheel .may travel over hard pavements without injury thereto and over soft ground \\'ithout sinking deeply therein.

ln the acconipanying drawings l have .illustrated my invention in a form which l have found to heV satisfactory in actual use, and referring thereto: v

Fig. l is an elevation,l partly 'in section, of a traction Wheel embodying preferred forni' of the invention.

wie: serial No. 363,642;

` Big. 2 is atransverse sectionalvi'ew'onfline 2 2 of Fig. 1.1 y

-. 3 is a perspective vieWof theshoe.

Leierrin' to-fthe drawings 5 designates template that Wheely 'manufacturers `in'`- the future willpunch the rims of their Wheelsl the Wheel if 'noy longerrequired Ipaiticu-v larly direct attention to! thefactthatthis'fis not necessary fork travelA on hard pavements generally aA metal Wheel which mayheofafnyff usuali construcion provided ivithfxarim 6. My inventionis adapted to he applied to old .l Wheels'asfivell as. to newwvheels and'I cony or road beds, as it is With sonie'ofthe'lug devices which are detach'ahly applied toftraction vvheelsyhecause theshoeswill not dig into orA otherwise injurefa hard surface since they have no lateral -movenient on the sur- A plurality of teeth are bolted; riveted'or otherwise securely fastened to. the)riinviny pairs at spaced intervals. rlheseteeth'are shorter than the WidthA of the rim and4 they are located centrally of theriin as shown' in Fig'. Each tooth? comprises'al substan- `tially fla-t hase l0 to engage v'the riin and connicotine' two rlongitudinal'prongs alli. 11

spaced apart. 'The prongs ofeach tooth'y have suhstantiiallyv plane inner faces Ar and' outer faces ,which curve inwardly towards each other from the haseso"that-theiprongsftaper, in effect`r to 'their outer' ground engaging` edges. The tooth may he made Iofcaststeel, chilled iron7` or any other" suita-lle'inaterial. A traction shoe is loosely mounted'on the face of the rim hy ineens-locatedvat. thehack"- of the rim hetiveen the teetho-f each pain rlh'e shoe is preferably a one=piece steel casty ing hut it can betast in'partssuitahly as'- seinliledy* or vmade `of any other material. The shoes are all'` made alike,y in grid? or skeletonform," and each' comprises parallel sides i2, inivardly` vdirectedA longitudinal-ly extendingftrack iian'gifes-lyend c`ros`s=hars 1 4,

andan intermediate Ycross-harV 15.v The sides are cut out at 16 h etxveen theA crossehars' 'andthe flanges 13 extend inwardly closely adjacent tothe ends ofthe teeth-Figi 2. HThe cross-hars are preferably made substantially Wedgefshaped in cross .Section and lcoredigit) reduce Weigh-t.;v Eachfcrcss-harfhas 'oppio-'#110 gg mareos sitely inclined upper sides ll and inwardly curved lon'er sides lh.

/ll ic sides l2 ot' the shoe extend above the ianges 13 suiiiciently .to inclose the side 'edges ot the rim (i, and are provided with openmgs 19 disposed opposite each other.`

`the openings 19 in the sides ot the shoe. rllhe openings are circular in shape and ot conn siderably greater diameter `than the di-` an'ieter ot the pins and they are spaced from the flanges 13 so that the shoe may move freely relatively to the pin and to the rim Within limits determined by the openings and the pins, and also bythe teeth and the cross-bars. The middle cross-bar 15 oit the shoe'is located between the teeth 7 oi a pair and the parts are so proportioned that the shoe will. have the desired amount o't loose play relative to the rim with the middle cross-bar engaging the oppositely oisposed sides oit the pair ot' teeth and the end crossbars engaging` the outer sides of the teeth in the play of the shoe. Thus the shoe is freely movable Within certain fixed limits on the rim and is induced to move by gravity and by the engagement ot the teeth. and cross hars so that each shoe will be presented in a substantially horizontal position to the surface over which the Wheel travels.y and Will be piclred up in a substantially horizontal. position from said surface after the radial center of the Wheel has passed thereover.

In practice the teeth are disposed in pairs spaced equidistant around the riin and the shoes are then applied as shown in thedraivings or in some equivalent manner. rihe parts are so proportioned that when the rim is completely equipped with teeth and shoes the ends of the shoes may approach each other in close juxtapositior, but Without touching. Thus each shoe is at all times freely movable Without interiterinter with or `interference from' either adjacent shoe. The

Wheel may be equipped With my invention at the 'factory and sold in its complete torni.. or the shoes and other parts may be sold separately in standard sizes for application to the Wheel at any time. The simplicity ot the invention makes ,it possible for anybmly to apply the shoe and other parts lo a Wheel in the first instance and to remove and resa pply them as often as desired. lt may be necesA` sary to construct the parts ot my invention ,in different sizes to fit Wheels ot dilt'erent sizes but believe that a comparatively tenY standard sizes will sufiice.

The shoes travel. with the rim oft the wheel as the Wheel revolves and move freely, hv gravity and hy reason of the engagement oit the teeth With the cross-bars., to any positon Within their prescribed limits Ot moveincxt.)

but they always maintain their position on the rim relative to each other and do not interfere or overlap at any time. Each shoe is engaged flatwise With the surface over whichv the Wheel. travels, that is to say7 the shoe is presented horizontally to the surface so that hy the time the rim travels thereon the shoe is at rest on the surface with all cross-bars the-rect in engagement with the surface. Hence, il the cross-hars are ioi'ced .into the surface by the Weight carried by the wheel. they Will enter the surface evenly and inalo clean outs Without shitting the earth between these cuts. The flanges and the crossharsl provide an extended track surface fr. engagement with the rim so that the Weight carried by the Wheel is distributed over a considerable area which reduces the penetration ot the cross-bars in the surface.

By reference 'to the drawings7 it will he noted that before the Wheel rim has rolled from one shoe another shoe will he properly positioned to receive it, and since the shoes are thus positioned in close juxtaposition and in alinement there is provided a seetional track which is carried by the rim and laid as the Wheel travels and forming, to all intents and purposes, a continuons track tor the rim. Each shoe is laid flat upon the ground before it receives the Weight ot the ivheel and this is important because it prevents the shoe trom digging in the ground at one end as would happen it' the Weight were applied to that end before the rest ot the shoe was properly placed on 'the ground. li`nrtl'1erinore7 this provides ttor distrilniting` the Weight over the entire area of the shoe, whereby one shoewill lie flush, or substantially flush,A With the next and provide a track which may lfor various reasons incline like the grade ot a street pavement hut which Will always he smooth and even and which will prevent the Wheel from packing` plowed ground.

rllhe shapeol the shoe and its transverse bars, and the teeth. and the cooperative relation ot the teeth and shoes, all serve their part in keeping; the slices clean and :tree troni dirt clods, especially When plowing in soi't ground. This is, ot course. desirable to maintain the shoes at their hiylxcst eilicienry. rlChe ground engaging portions ot the transverso hars oit the shoe are tapered that they Will malte a narrow lean cnt in the .flronnd and Withdraw therefrom. Without dragging dirt with them. lt has heen 'low-.id in actual use that the shoes will licei: clean.-

that is to say, 'free ironi clods or accumulation of dirt which would interiore with. their lfli) 1,441,303 c y Si clods ofimoreor less sise, but diie to the movable mountingo'l the sl'ioeson` the rimy with dirt'to-sucha-n eXtentthat--they will not..` y bev properlylpresented tothe ground Aunderl any ordinaryconditions This is avery important iteaturel of f invention,l and par-A ticiilarly `becausepf the simplel manner in #which thev'result is accomplished.

It. has also vbeen found inthe-practical use fof the invention that: it:y entirely eliminates slippaga-at least soV farwas can be observedy lwithfthe` eye. This is also-importantbecause it is a fach-'although itwmayl appear extraordinary, that 1n aiilaysplowingthe .loss of distance due to slippage will be considerable, in fact it may exceed ten per cent. This also involves a loss ofuiueland time, besides the wear-'and teaiton the machinery. Tractors equipped with this invention have been carefully watched on soft and on hard ground and on turi` and no evidence of any material slippage'has been observed. When it is understood that a tractor wheel with cleats or lugs will show slippage so plainly that critical examination is not necessary, and will shift the ground between cleats or spurs laterally in clods, the importance of my invention will be better appreciated.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion and arrangement of parts of my invention may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof and l therefore reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A traction shoe for attachment to the rim of a wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engagin,Lr bars wedgeshapedin cross section and with openings through the shoe between said bars.

2. A traction shoe for attachment to the rim of a wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart and with openings through the shoe therebetween, said bars tapering transversely to their outer edges.

3. A traction shoe for attachment to the rim ol a wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart and with openings therebetween, said bars having oppositely inclined and curved sides.

4. A traction shoe for attachment to the rim of a wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart and with openings through the shoe therebetween, said bars having outwardly curved sides.

A traction shoe for attachment to the rim of awheelvand having a plurality of trans-verse ground engaging bars spaced apart and with openings through the shoev therebetween, said bars haVingopQOsitely inclosed sides.

6. A traction shoe 'for attachment toI the rim of a-wheel and vhaving a plurality of transverse groundwengaging bars spaced apart and with openings through the-shoe therebetweein said bars Ahaving outwardly -inclined sides. f

7.'V A -trac'tionshoe for attachment ,to the rim of a wheel and having plurality of transverse ground lengaging bars spaced apart, the vlowerfportionof each bar being substantiallywedge-shaped in cross section.

8. A traction shoe for attachinentto the :rim of a vwheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging, bars spaced apart, said/bars having oppositeljif inclined upper sidesand being substantially .wedgef shaped in cross section therebelow.

9. A tractionfshoe orrattachment to the rim of a-wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart, said bars having outwardly inclined upper sides and oppositely curved lower sides. i

l0. A traction shoe for attachment to the rim of a wheel and .having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart and with openings therebetween, the upper sides of adjacent bars ybeing oppositely inclined and the lower sides of adjacent bars being oppositely curved.

ll. A traction shoe Jfor attachment to the rim of a wheel and having a plurality of transverse ground engaging bars spaced apart, longitudinally extending ianges to 'form a track to be engaged by the outer surface of the rim, and sides connected to .said bars and flanges and having alined openings therein spaced from said bars and flanges.

12. The combination with the rim of a wheel, of a traction shoe mounted on the rim and having transverse ground engaging bars, sides extending inwardly beyond the rim and provided with alined openings, and means on the back ot the rim loosely engaging said openings to secure the shoe tothe rim and provided with enlarged alined openings7 and pins mounted on the back or the n `:ini and loosely engaging said openings to ori-the outer face of the rim operating in said openings, sides on the shoe extending inwardly beyond the rini and provided With enlarged alined openings, and pins on the back of the rim. loosely engaging said openings to secure the shoe to the rim.

17. The combination with the rim of .er :iA/inane Wheel, ot a traction shoe mounted on the riin and having transverse ground engaging bars with openings therebetween, ine/ans for securing the shoe on the rni, and teeth Secured on the outer face of the riin to engage the Lopenings in the shoe, teeth having spaced prongs With substantially plane inner faces and curved outer faces.

18. The combination with the rim ot a Wheel, ol' a traction shoe mounted on the rim and having transverse ground engaging bars with openings therebetween, sides extending inwardly beyond the riin and provided with enlarged alined openings7 pins of less diameter than the diameter of said openings engaging said openings to loosely secure the shoe to the riin, and teeth mounted on the face of the rim and arranged in the openings in the shoe.

Louis n. sinuses.

lllitnesses z MiLDRnD hinnnnnn, HENRY J. Bussum'. 

